Children of the Fourth Age
by Mystic Winter
Summary: A series of vignettes looking into the ups and downs in the lives of the children of the Fellowship. Sort of sequel to "Elflings of the First Age" and "When We Were Young," but neither have to be read to understand this.
1. A Brother's Intervention

Chapter One: A Brother's Intervention

It was the soft sobs that stopped Legolas in his tracks. He frowned and headed towards the source. As he neared his son's room, the sobs got louder.

"Oh no." He breathed as he quickened his pace. "What happened this time?" When he reached his son's room, he slowly opened the door and his heart sank. His youngest son, Sadron, was curled up on his bed under the blankets. He could tell Sadron was shaking violently, as the blankets weren't exactly still. Legolas quickly walked over to the bed and gathered his son in his arms.

"What happened?" He asked. Sadron shook his head and rubbed his streaming, bloodshot eyes.

"Nothing." The elfling said in a choked voice.

"It doesn't look like nothing happened, ion-nin." Legolas replied gently. Sadron laid his head on Legolas's shoulder and let out a soft sob.

"Stupid bullies." The elfling finally replied. Legolas's blood ran cold.

"Megildur and Nendir?" Legolas asked. He tightened his hold on Sadron. Sadron nodded.

"Maybe they're right." Sadron cried. Legolas frowned. This couldn't be good.

"About what, ion-nin?" Legolas asked. Sadron let out a soft sob.

"Maybe I should die." Legolas's blood not only ran colder, it stopped running completely. His heart froze, his mind blanked, and his entire body went rigid.

"What did you just say?" He finally asked in a slow, soft voice.

"They said I killed Thalion." Sadron sobbed. "They said I should have died with him." Legolas couldn't speak. Sadron had been shattered by the death of his oldest brother, Thalion. Legolas thought he had helped his son dispel his guilt over the situation, but for the bullies to use it against him like that...

Someone was going to get hell very soon.

"Sade, I'm going to deal with those bullies. And I'm going to deal with them very, very soon." Legolas promised. Sadron let out another sob. Legolas squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of tears. He forced his body to move and carried Sadron to his father's study. He had some authority-invoking to do.

-0-0-0-

Legolas Thranduilion was not the happiest elf in Mirkwood. In fact, he was furious, but also very worried and very shaken. This was the fifth time in three days Megildur and Nendir had made his son cry, and he was going to make them pay. They were too much like their Adas, and Legolas did not like that at all. It was for this reason that he could not bring to issue to the parents of Sadron's tormentors. While Megildur's mother and Nendir's mother would care a great deal, their fathers would not. Or, at least, that's what he believed.

"Legolas!" The angry prince sighed and turned to face his friend.

"Calanon." He greeted wearily. Calanon frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"The sons of Alyan and Nimtolien, that's what." Legolas responded. Calanon nodded grimly.

"You mean the grandsons of Morgoth, I suppose." He commented. Legolas managed a small smile of amusement. "I think I can help with that."

"Just like you helped with Alyan and Nimtolien, I suppose." Legolas teased.

"That wasn't my fault!" Calanon exclaimed indignantly. "How was I supposed to know the prank would backfire?" Legolas actually laughed.

"You weren't." He replied. "But it did." Calanon waved his hand dismissively.

"It was a long time ago." He remarked. "And it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is your present dilemma concerning the grandsons of Morgoth." Legolas's gaze darkened at the mention of his son's tormentors. Calanon nodded knowingly.

"What am I going to do?" Legolas asked softly, his tone laced with anger.

"Talk to their naneths." Calanon suggested.

"Yeah, and when that doesn't work anymore? What then? They won't stop." Legolas retorted. "What if Sade hurts himself over something they say? Valar, what if he kills him-"

"Morgoth's bane, Legolas, where is this coming from?" Calanon interrupted as he placed his hands on Legolas's shoulders. He was clearly alarmed by his friend's comments about Sadron.

"It's officially a possibility." Legolas responded as he began to shake. "They told Sadron that he killed Thalion and that he should have died with him. And he agrees!" The young prince was now on the verge of tears.

"Valar." Calanon breathed. "That goes beyond spite." Legolas could only nod his agreement. He didn't want to open his mouth for fear that he would burst into tears if he did. And if he did burst into tears, he was afraid he would never stop.

"We take this to Thranduil." Calanon told Legolas. "He's the only one who can deal with this in the most efficient way." Legolas swallowed hard and nodded. "It's okay, mellon-nin. You can cry. It's okay. No one's going to blame you."

"I can't lose him." Legolas whispered before he burst into uncontrollable sobs. Calanon quickly wrapped his friend in a hug. "I can't lose him. Not now. Not ever. I can't lose him. I can't lose him."

-0-0-0-

Legolas's fury was nothing compared to that of Thranduil. Or that of Locien, Legolas's 17 year old son. Locien's first impulse was to hunt down the bullies and take his belt to their backsides. Legolas, though he would have loved to allow for that, vetoed the idea in favor for a somewhat calmer solution. After all, violence would not set a good example. While his father's decision didn't satisfy him, Locien agreed to abide by it and went in search of Sadron.

The young elf stormed through the halls, trying in vain to calm himself. Gritting his teeth against a scream, Locien threw open the door to his "secret room." When he saw who was inside, he froze. Megildur and Nendir met Locien's angry gaze with innocent eyes.

"Hello." Nendir greeted pleasantly. "We were just going to see if Sadron wanted to play hide-and-go-seek."

"I heard about what you told Sadron." Locien told them as he entered the room. He shut the door behind him and locked it. "Ada thinks tanning your backsides isn't such a good idea. He thinks it will set a poor example."

"And you?" Megildur asked. The elfling appeared to think that Locien was messing around with them. That was where Megildur was wrong. Very wrong. Locien reached down to undo his belt. He knew he had agreed to abide by his Ada's decision, but what his Ada didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"I don't share his views." He whispered dangerously. Nendir had the grace to look terrified while Megildur made the unfortunate mistake of letting out a snort of amusement.

"Right." Megildur remarked. "Like you would."

"Actually," Locien told him as he finished undoing his belt. "I would like to start with you."

Legolas was playing a guessing game with Sadron when Locien, Megildur, and Nendir appeared in the doorway. One look at the two elfling's tear-stained, terrified faces told Legolas that Locien had acted on his impulse.

"Go on." Locien said. "Say it." Nendir opened his mouth, but all that came out was a frightened sob.

"S-sorry." Megildur whimpered. "It w-won't happen again, Sadron." Nendir opened his mouth again, but Legolas raised his hand. The elfling closed his mouth.

"Locien was wrong to act on his impulse, and I apologize for that." Legolas told Megildur and Nendir. "Both of you and Locien should know that an apology made under duress is hardly an apology at all. Locien, kindly take them to the healers. No, don't say anything. Megildur, Nendir, come back when you're truly sorry." The elflings nodded before running in the direction of the healers. Sadron looked at his brother with wide, confused eyes.

"Ada-" Locien began.

"No, don't. Just... make sure they get proper medical attention. We'll talk later." Legolas sighed. Locien glared at his father before storming of after Nendir and Megildur. Legolas rested his head in his hands.

"Ada?" Sadron whispered as he took one of Legolas's hands in his own. "Ada, what did Locien do? Are you tired? Do you need to lie down? You can sleep in my bed if you need a nap." Legolas smiled half-heartedly at his son.

"I'm alright, Sadie. Listen, Locien... was very, very angry when he heard what Nendir and Megildur said to you, ion-nin. And in his anger, he hurt Nendir and Megildur in order to punish them for what they did." Legolas replied. Sadron's eyes widened.

"That was wrong of him." The elfling said. He hugged his Ada and sighed. "I'll talk to Locien and tell him that. I know he just wanted to help, but he shouldn't have hurt them. That makes him just like them." Legolas tightened his hold on his son.

"You're right. And I'm glad you understand that." The prince responded. "And I hope you understand that Thalion's death was not your fault. Do you think he would want you to blame yourself, or want you to die just because he did?" Sadron shook his head. Tears were sparkling in his eyes.

"I... I really miss him." The elfling whispered. Legolas squeezed his eyes shut. A tear slipped out from under his eyelid and slowly crept down his cheek.

"I miss him, too, Sadie." Legolas muttered. "I miss him, too."


	2. And Pockets Full of Sunshine

Chapter Three: And Pockets of Sunshine

Chubby, toddler hands reached for the window, through which mid-morning sunlight was pouring. A soft giggle escaped the toddler's mouth, reaching her seven year old brother, who lay on his back in the middle of the bedroom with his eyes closed. The young boy opened his eyes and looked at his little sister. She was grabbing at the sunlight, as if trying to catch it.

"Ioreth." He called as he sat up. "What are you doing?" Ioreth looked over her shoulder at her brother and offered him a playful smile.

"Tryin' to catch da sunshine." She replied. The boy smiled and got to his feet. He dusted his brown pants off before speaking.

"You need a special net to catch the sunshine." He informed his sister. Ioreth frowned, her eyes full of confusion.

"What kinda net, Eldawion?" She asked. Eldarion held out his hand. Ioreth got to her feet and walked over to her brother. She took his hand and looked up at him curiously.

"We're going to go find it. And then we can catch the sunshine and put it in our pockets so we can show it to Ada and Naneth." Eldarion told her. "Okay?" Ioreth nodded her approval and allowed her brother to gently lead her from the bedroom.

"Where's da net, El?" Ioreth asked. Eldarion thought for a moment. Where could they find something that could pass for a net? "El?" Perhaps Elboron might give them a hand?

"Elboron will know where it is." Eldarion replied. Ioreth grinned at the mention of their friend. She was very fond of Elboron and could always count on him to play with her when Eldarion was less reliable in that area. It was for that reason that Eldarion had decided to look for Elboron. Elboron was creative and would, most likely, know where they would find something that could pass for a net.

And Eldarion was right, for as soon as they found Elboron in the library, surrounded by more books than Eldarion cared to count, the young boy was pulling them towards his room.

"I'm so glad you asked." Elboron told them as they neared his room. "I've been waiting so long for a chance to use it. It was just gathering dust, you know, until I decided to use it for a blanket. And it makes a very good blanket. I didn't think it would."

"What makes a good banklet?" Ioreth asked. Elboron grinned. They had reached his room.

"The sunshine net." Elboron replied as he opened the door. And that was when Eldarion's eyes fell on the white, tattered blanket folded neatly on the end of the made bed. A small smile graced the boy's features and Elboron, catching his friend's eye, smiled too. Eldarion had given him the blanket for his fifth birthday, a year before Ioreth was born. The blanket had gone everywhere with Elboron, even to school. Of course, as Elboron had gotten older, the blanket had stayed behind a good deal of the time. But the years had been hard on the blanket, and now it was stained, torn, and threadbare.

"I don't see it." Ioreth remarked. Eldarion knelt down next to his sister.

"Why, it's there." He said as he pointed to the blanket. "That old thing. It's been in Elboron's family for a very long time."

"How long?" Ioreth asked, looking up at her brother with curious eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. But it's older than uncle Legolas." Eldarion replied as he stood.

"Uncle Leggy is old as Gondor." Ioreth stated.

"No, he's even older than that." Elboron replied before hurrying inside the room to retrieve the blanket. "He's ancient." Eldarion chuckled. He could only imagine the looks they would be receiving from his Ada, a good friend of Legolas, if he heard the comments about Legolas's age.

Once the children had retrieved the "net," they hurried out to the courtyard.

"Where do we put it?" Eldarion asked, not aware of the fact that the guards by the large double doors were watching them with small smiles on their faces. Elboron looked around for a moment.

'Ha!" He said suddenly. "There, by the white tree,"

"Why there?" Ioreth asked. Eldarion knelt down next to his sister.

"Well, you see, Reth, the white tree will help us catch the sunshine. As the sunshine comes down, the white tree will catch it for us and throw it into the net," He explained.

"Oh," Ioreth replied. She fully believed that her big brother was telling the truth. Eldarion grinned and ruffled his little sister's hair before leading her over to Elboron, who had begun to lay the blanket out on the hot stone ground.

"Now, we wait," Elboron said as soon as he had finished.

"Let's go play hide and seek while we're waiting. How about it, Reth?" Eldarion suggested. Ioreth nodded enthusiastically before hurrying over to Elboron. Eldarion noticed that his friend looked to be thinking about not playing with them.

"You gonna' help me hide like las' time, Elby?" Ioreth asked, looking imploringly up at Elboron. One look at Ioreth was enough to convince Elboron to forget about the library for a while and he nodded.

"Yippee!" Ioreth exclaimed. She then pulled Elboron out of the courtyard and down into the city. Eldarion sighed and shook his head in amusement before covering his eyes.

"One, two, three..."

-0-0-0-

The children returned to their sunshine net around dinner time. Eldarion and Elboron had been very surprised that they had been able to keep Ioreth preoccupied for as long as they had, as they had expected the little girl to constantly ask them if they had enough sunshine yet. But she had not, and that's what surprised them.

They scooped up the invisible sunshine and put it into their pockets. Once they had done that, Elboron helped Ioreth shake the remaining sunshine out of the blanket before they hurried inside for dinner. They found their parents in the Great Hall, laughing about something they found funny. Eldarion wanted to ask what they were laughing about, but before he could, Ioreth ran over to them, shouting: "Ada! Ada! We got sunshine!" Eldarion looked over at Elboron and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Thanks, El," Eldarion said. "We appreciate it,"

"No problem," Elboron replied with a smile. "I had fun,"

"So, is the sunshine still invisible?" Eldarion inquired softly. Elboron groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"I told her it wouldn't be," He replied, his voice just as soft.

"Let's show Ada our sunshine!" Ioreth said loudly when the boys reached them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of...

... nothing. The smile fell off of Ioreth's face in less than a second. Elboron took note of this and immediately thought up a response. He reached into his pocket, gesturing for Eldarion to do the same, and when they took their hands out of their pockets, Elboron said:

"Oh, no. I was afraid of that. Sometimes, when sunshine is brought inside, it disappears,"

"Oh," Ioreth said. She was obviously disappointed.

"But that's alright," Eldarion told her. "There will be plenty of sunshine tomorrow, I'm sure," Ioreth nodded, but did not cheer up. Eldarion bit his lip worriedly. How was he going to cheer his sister up? He looked to his naneth for help. Arwen took Ioreth in her arms and carried her over to the table.

"Why don't you draw me a picture of the sunshine, instead, sweetheart," She suggested. "I'm sure that would be lovely," Eldarion saw his sister smile and nod enthusiastically. He relaxed, glad that his sister was no longer sad.


End file.
